Forrest J Ackerman

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(November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008)

Forrest J (he affected no period after the "J") Ackerman — 4e — was a fan (indeed, one of the founders of fandom), collector of books and movie memorabilia (he was called The Grand Aquisitor), magazine editor, science fiction writer, Esperanto enthusiast (using ktp instead of "etc"), and literary agent.


Fan[edit]

He was central to creation and growth of science fiction fandom. Famous for his word play, simplifyd spelng, and neologisms, he coined the genre nickname "sci-fi". In 1953, he was voted "#1 Fan Personality" by the members of the Worldcon, a unique Hugo Award never granted to anyone else.

He had a forest of nicknames: Foĵak (from Esperanto), Mr Science Fiction (self-applied), #1 Face, FJA, Efjay, Efjay the Terrible, Ack-Ack, Wacky, 4e, 4sj and the J. Pen names included Erdstelulov, Mirta Forsto (with Morojo), Jack Erman, Claire Voyant, Weaver Wright and, possibly, Allis Villette. He used publishing house names Snafucius Publications and Fubar Pubs.

Forry found SF when as a ten-year-old he saw the Frank R. Paul cover of the October 1926 Amazing. He became active as a fan around 1930. (See Aubrey MacDermott on the Origins of Fandom for a dubiously reliable report.)

He attended the First Worldcon in 1939, where he and Morojo wore the first "futuristicostumes" (a typical Ackermanism) and sparked fan costuming. He attended every Worldcon but two thereafter during his lifetime. He invited the very young Ray Bradbury to attend the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League, later LASFS. He was not a founder of LASFS, but joined in its first year and became so active in and important to the club, that in essence he ran it.

He originated the Big Pond Fund, the first fan fund and was also active in the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F) and was for many year its only lifetime member. He was West Coast Representative for Silvercon. (And, embarrassingly, he was a supporter of Claude Degler and effectively the only member of Degler’s Futurian Society of California and the Futurian Society of Los Angeles.) His publishing included the publishing houses dyktawo, Snafucius Pubs, and Fubar Pubs.

He was a candidate for TAFF in 1956.

Pro[edit]

He was the editor and principal writer of Famous Monsters of Filmland, as well as an actor and producer (Vampirella). He and Wendayne also brought Perry Rhodan to the United States.

For many years, he served as a de facto agent for sf writers who were dead or couldn’t be located, allowing their stories to be reprinted and holding payments in escrow until heirs were located.

Collector[edit]

He accumulated an extremely large collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror film memorabilia, which he stored in houses-cum-museums in Los Angeles known as the Ackermansion and Son of Ackermansion. He regularly opened them to visitors. The original, where he lived from the early 1950s until the mid-70s, contained some 300,000 books and pieces of movie and science-fiction memorabilia.

One of his attempts to deal with the accumulation was the Fantasy Foundation.

In addition to genre materials, he had other collectible items, including a chair that had belonged to Abraham Lincoln.

Starting in the late ’70s or early ’80s, Ackerman tried to turn his collection into a public museum, ultimately without success. One attempt is narrated in File 770 38, p. 4.

Before his death, he was forced to sell much of his collection to meet medical expenses.

Personal Life[edit]

Forry was the son of Carroll Cridland Wyman (1883–1977) and William Schilling Ackerman (1892–1951).

In the 1930s and early ’40s, he was in a relationship with Morojo; he was so bitterly angry after their breakup that he barely spoke to her for the rest of her life.

In 1945, 4E publicly proposed marriage to Tigrina in a letter in Walt Dunkelberger’s Fanews 166 (June 19, 1945). In #170, on July 3, Tigrina declined. Dunk avowed both letters were legit.

In 1949, Forry married Wendayne Ackerman, whom he’d met in a Los Angeles department store where she worked as a clerk selling books. After nine years of marriage, she and FJA divorced — but, after a brief hiatus, remained friends and companions, reconciling and remarrying in 1972. Forry and her son from a previous marriage, Michael Porjes, did not get along.

Belle Wyman, Forry’s grandmother, was also a LASFan.

He suffered heart problems in 1966, but recovered and on December 2, 1966, 185 people paid $5 each to attend a not-quite-a-surprise Birthday Dinner and Testimonial at the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel. It was organized by Walt Daugherty, Robert Bloch was toastmaster. Speakers included Ray Bradbury, Jim Warren, Guy Gifford, Carel Borland, A. E. van Vogt, Walt Leibscher and many others. He was presented with a plethora of plaques, trophies, scrolls and other stuff. The tradition of huge birthday celebrations continued and on November 21, 1986, there was a fan gathering called (in the best Ackerman tradition) 4E 2B 70.

More reading[edit]

In 1989, Forry wrote several reminiscences of Worldcons he had attended for the Noreascon Three program book:

Video Links[edit]

Fanzines and Apazines:

Awards, Honors and GoHships:


Person 1916—2008
This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names.

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